Joined by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, right, Mrs. Laura Bush talks with the Ladies in White via a video teleconference Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008, in the Situation Room of the White House. The Ladies in White is an organization that includes spouses and other relatives of jailed Cuban dissidents. The organization was formed in 2003 to protest the arrest of 75 dissidents by the Cuban regime. Members of the organization have been consistently detained, threatened, and at times beaten by police during their peaceful protests. White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian